Whoa checking out Polytopia right now because Civilization Revolution iOS is my FAVORITE CIVILIZATION GAME ever, because it’s the only one where it’s possible to have a filling complete game in just a few hours (rapid advancement and science on the numbered games cause bad balance and pacing issues). I have not and will not update my iPad because doing so would auto-delete CivRev for not being compliant with the newer OS’s.

Also, btw, Civ Rev 2 is craaaaap. Sure, it’s prettier, but the speed of play and stutter even on the newest devices are excruciating.

So I am keeping my fingers crossed that this is as awesome as you guys say.

Just finished listing and was wanting to comment about day one purchasing games. In the very next segment you talked about supporting composers by ordering their stuff. To my mind a day one, full RRP purchase is absolutely one of the best way to support game developers. It gives publishers faith in supporting their next project. Just saying a blanket "don't do it" overlooks the very real benefit your favourite developer gets from strong day one sales.

I totally agree with Amanda's comment that Bioware dropped the ball with potentially adding in romances into Anthem as something that's just an afterthought. It's really hard to find games where you can not only play as a character who identifies as queer, but also inhabit that character in a way where you can make choices. I think it's especially important for people, younger and older, who don't live in an area where they feel comfortable to inhabit their own identity, to be able to see their identity in games and express themselves through that game instead of through seeing themselves as an NPC.

Just wanted to say, I've somehow avoided podcasts until now. I couldn't see how they could compete with reading articles or watching YouTube videos.

I went to a conference yesterday and on the way home decided to listen to your podcast. It's changed my life, honestly!

You can tell that you're all good friends and listening to you made me feel like I was sitting on a couch with you talking about video games and...tractors (which was pretty cool, too). You're absolutely awesome and I'll definitely be tuning in regularly!

Just finished listing and was wanting to comment about day one purchasing games. In the very next segment you talked about supporting composers by ordering their stuff. To my mind a day one, full RRP purchase is absolutely one of the best way to support game developers. It gives publishers faith in supporting their next project. Just saying a blanket "don't do it" overlooks the very real benefit your favourite developer gets from strong day one sales.

Ahh oh yeah! That's a pretty jarring transition
We didn't address it, but we certainly could have; I'm a strong supporter of small, independent enterprises! One of the things I enjoy about playing games expressly to discuss them on the show is that I have an opportunity to shine what small light I can on people who are doing things I believe in, and drum up support in what I hope results in additional sales for them. (In roughly two hours, I'll be getting on the call to do just this for a sweet little game-let I just played, actually!)

I understand day-1 purchases are super important, for a multitude of reasons that we don't see on the surface. I think there are a lot of good arguments in support for it, so I'm glad you brought it up! If you happen to have spending cash to buy something the same day it releases, it's a great way to communicate further demand for what they do.

The email question was in the context of serendipitous delay resulting in a better experience, so I don't think we were in the mindset to see it from the viewpoint of regarding sales numbers as a benchmark of industry success at that point.

Either way, you're putting your money where your mouth is, and giving it to the people you want to see create more of in the world. If you do it day 1 or day 100, it seems to me that there's still value in sustained support and continued sales.

A studio that puts in the work to patch and cultivate their product so that new people can come along 6 months along and have a really great experience is something that I don't think is valued enough. Traditional video game consumer cycles seem to be happy to chase whatever the next new hotness is. Devour it quickly and forget it for the next thing (your product better be good, done, and ready for consumption hot and fast), because the dearth of content is so wide and unending that without that strong initial push, your flash in the pan game may go unnoticed. So that day-1 support is SO real.

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A studio that puts in the work to patch and cultivate their product so that new people can come along 6 months along and have a really great experience is something that I don't think is valued enough. Traditional video game consumer cycles seem to be happy to chase whatever the next new hotness is. Devour it quickly and forget it for the next thing (your product better be good, done, and ready for consumption hot and fast), because the dearth of content is so wide and unending that without that strong initial push, your flash in the pan game may go unnoticed. So that day-1 support is SO real.

So I was finishing up the last 20 minutes of this episode while cooking dinner, and was not at all expecting to hear my own handle come up [for this thread]! That was a lot of fun. My wife (who also likes the podcast) and I were listening and all of a sudden I blurted out "holy s***, they're talking about me!" I was totally floored.

I'm only a recent listener, and I found my way to the forums after hearing some conversation about another listener who met up with, and I think roomed with, a random person at a GWJ event, and had to explain to his wife why that was okay and how cool the community was. Then, the discussion turned to how and why the community got to be so special. All that led me to think "I should check this forum out," and so far, I'm glad I did!

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A studio that puts in the work to patch and cultivate their product so that new people can come along 6 months along and have a really great experience is something that I don't think is valued enough. Traditional video game consumer cycles seem to be happy to chase whatever the next new hotness is. Devour it quickly and forget it for the next thing (your product better be good, done, and ready for consumption hot and fast), because the dearth of content is so wide and unending that without that strong initial push, your flash in the pan game may go unnoticed. So that day-1 support is SO real.